What can parliamentarians do?

In their capacity as key actors for establishing and upholding small arms control, parliamentarians are responsible for legislating at the national level, ratifying international treaties, monitoring the performance of Governments, holding them accountable for their actions and, creating public opinion and awareness through their role as key social actors.

The strategy of the Forum in terms of capacity building is to support parliamentarians in their SALW-related work. The Forum provides them with a common ground for sharing information and experiences, which enables them to apply their knowledge and generate debate on SALW issues in their respective home countries. This in turn may result in concrete legislative and policy changes in countries where such changes are needed.